Campus Housing Priority
Campus housing at UC Merced is generally allocated to residents with the following priorities, though there may be exceptions:
- Incoming first-year and transfer students
- Students who have approved housing accommodation requests
- Students with program-guaranteed housing (Regent's Scholar, etc...).
- Second-year students
- Continuing (Third-year+) student
Two Year Housing Guarantee*
Incoming first-year students for Fall 2024 are guaranteed housing for two years. Incoming transfer students are guaranteed housing for their first year at UC Merced. Guarantee eligibility requires:
- Students must live on campus fall and spring terms of their first year to be eligible**
- Students must live on campus consecutive, academic year semesters (fall and spring) to maintain their guarantee***
- Students must follow all housing application processes, including meeting deadlines for applications and acceptance of housing offers, to be eligible
- The housing guarantee expires following the second, spring term after the student's admission date
Students classified in the housing portal as first-year, second year, and new transfer who also meet the housing application submission and contract sign deadlines will be guaranteed housing for the next academic year. New transfers starting in spring term will be guaranteed spring term only and are not guaranteed the following academic year.
*first year students and new transfers must meet the consecutive and full term housing requirements to use the guarantee in their first year. Students who take approved educational leave remain eligible for the guarantee if they return to campus housing before the second, spring term after their admissions date.
**living on campus for a term is defined as living on campus for at least 75% of the days covered by campus housing agreement for that term.
***Student must be living on campus at both the fall and spring census dates, as well as for the 75% of days covered by each term, to be eligible
Examples
In these examples, the housing application opens on February 13, 2024. Fall 2023 has 119 days (August 19-Dec 16) and the spring term census date is Feb 2, 2024. 75% of fall covered days is equal to (119*.75) = 89 days.
- A first year student moves into campus housing at the start of fall term. They reside continuously in campus housing through the beginning of the housing application process for the next academic year. This student is guaranteed a housing offer for the following fall. They will be classified as a second-year student for 2024-2025 housing.
- A first year student moves into campus housing at the start of fall term. They withdraw after fall term. If the student applies for housing in for the following fall term, they are ineligibe for the housing guarantee because they did not live on campus for both the fall and spring terms. They will be classified as a continuing student for 2024-2025 housing.
- A first year student moves into campus housing at the start of fall term. They take educational leave beginning October 18th, later extending the leave through spring term. If the student applies for housing in for the following term, they are eligible for the campus housing guarantee through spring 2025. While they did not meet the number of days and consecutive term requirements, the reason was approved educational leave. They will be classified as a second year student for 2024-2025 campus housing.
- A second year student applies for housing for the following academic year. They have lived on campus their first 4 consecutive semesters. They are not eligible for the housing guarantee in fall 2024 because they will have execeeded the guarantee, which is only for the first two years. They will be classified as a continuing student for 2024-2025 campus housing.
- A first year student lives on campus the first term, then moves out of campus housing at the start of spring term (January 18, 2024) to finish the semester living with family in Merced. In this case, the student has lived on campus for a full fall term, but did not live on campus long through the spring term census date and is ineligible for a housing guarantee. They will be classified as a continuing student for 2024-2025 campus housing.
- A first year student lives on campus for fall term, then withdraws on November 3rd, 2023. The student reapplies for spring housing and lives on the full term (118 days). The student did not live on campus for 75% of fall term days (>= 89 days), so they will apply for housing as a continuing student with no guarantee for 2024-2025.
- A new transfer student applies for housing beginning spring 2024. They are guaranteed housing for spring 2024, but are not guaranteed housing for 2024-2025. They will be classified as a continuing student for 2024-2025 campus housing.
- A new transfer student is admitted in April 2024. They apply for housing for 2024-2025. They are guaranteed housing for fall and spring term of 2024-2025. They will be classified as a new transfer student for 2024-2025.
